Baseball World Cup 2002
by AnonymousDH
Summary: He swallows, leaning back in his chair. This new piece of information about the red head he dreamt of every night being a bit too much. His fingers falling around his tie as he loosens it a bit, wondering if this baseball thing is merely a coincidence or if it was his lucky day. [DARVEY] #DARVEYWEEK


**Hi everyone. SO it's #DARVEYWEEK YAY! Come join us on twitter .. anyway, because of that I'm gonna try and post/ update lots of fics this week. *fingers crossed* and I'd thought I'd start with this one shot I once wrote but never posted and adjusted it a bit. Really, just a thing I once heard or saw and pictured for them. Hope you'll like it and maybe leave a review? x**

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 **BASEBALL WORLD CUP 2002**

It's a difficult time. She left Harvey to work for Louis and went back when her friend got arrested. She tried her best to keep a brave face, knowing all too well the young man wasn't the only one risking prison charges. She was left behind to glue them all together. Her friend mostly, the young law student who lost her fiancée. The three lawyers she's known for the last decade, the firm and in the midst of it her own relationship crumbled to pieces.

She misses the idea of an relationship, but she doesn't necessarily miss him. She was never fully in it anyway and now she had time for herself. But with that came the questions. What does she want, what would she have wanted out of life? What she did and didn't do, opportunities she took or didn't take.

She knows it's time for a chance, the biggest should be her relationship status and then this time with Harvey, but she risked her heart once. It's now up to him. Instead she focusses on her apartment, wanting to get rid of all her old stuff. Things she doesn't use anymore.

.

Rachel opens another cabinet, she's helping Donna but in the same time she's helping herself. Trying to keep her mind off of Mike, he's been in there for nearly half a year now. Her eyes widen when she sees the amount of items inside and Donna can only nod. She has a lot of clothes.

"How about this one?" the young lawyer pulls out a dark blue dress, holding it in between them, "I've never seen you wear it." The redhead swallows looking away. It's the first dress Harvey bought her. For an event just after they joined the firm. She's only worn it once and she doesn't really know why she still has it, but somehow she can't tell Rachel that it was because of him.

She settles on a lie, the dress she bought with her first pay check from the firm and somehow Rachel believes it and puts the item in the keep box. They go over more and more stuff, almost clearing out the half of her stuff. Old books, clothing, even pieces of furniture don't make the cut and somewhere along the day they decided to sell everything and give the money to charity.

.

He looks at her from time to time, glancing over his desk to her cubicle. He notices that something is off, but he can't really pinpoint what it is. Not until he sees Rachel enter his office with a scarf he knows belongs to Donna. Because he bought it, for her birthday maybe seven years ago.

"Harvey do you need anything else?" Rachel asks her boss as she places the pieces of paper on his desk. His eyes still fixed on the scarf around her neck. He doesn't even register his associates question, pointing at the scarf. "Isn't that -"

"Donna's?" Rachel nods, "yes, she uhm.. She's doing this big cleaning thing, getting rid of stuff she didn't need anymore," the brunette answers. He sighs, apparently a gift from him wasn't needed anymore.

It makes him wonder why, but then again, they were going through a rough patch all those years ago. It was more of an apology gift anyway. Maybe she didn't even remember he gave it to her, but she's Donna. "Yeah.. I know," he mumbles looking away, his hands already falling around the Manila folder as he signals Rachel to leave.

He's still not sure what to think about it. The fact that she gave her scarf to Rachel and he wants to ask her, but he's not sure he's prepared to hear the answer. Not yet.

She notices how he looks away again. She can hear him sigh over the intercom. She also heard the little exchange between her best friends earlier and she'd like to tell herself she's surprised by the fact that he knows that, but she's learned that he knows more about her than that he lets on. That she knows.

She just doesn't know why he didn't ask her about it, but deep down she wouldn't know what to say anyway. Cause how on earth would she explain "but Harvey gave that to me.." Or "but he got me that for the Christmas party of 2007..." Or "but that's the bag he bought me after the Stephen debacle.." to Rachel with any piece she asked whether it should go or not?

Or any other variant of the same truth: she had kept all those things because of him.

.

He sees his female associate run towards his secretary's cubicle again. He notices how she looks up, smiling briefly at Rachel. It isn't even close to her genuine smile, the one he loves so much. He sees the way her eyes fall on that scarf again he now knows why.

He doesn't have the ability to listen in on her conversations and like many times before he wished he had. Even if it was just to hear her voice. The only thing he can make clear from the scene exchanging in front of him is how enthusiastic Rachel looks and the panicked look Donna got right after that. Followed by a 'fuck' if he correctly read her lips.

He sees how Rachel tries to apologise or something and he wonders what's going on, but he also knows he doesn't have to ask. The redhead will be in his office to vent in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4...

"Shit.. Shit, shit," she mumbles entering his office as she closes the door behind her back. Frantically looking around to see if there's anyone else there, he rolls his eyes at this habit of hers. As if there's any place to hide for someone in his glass office. Not even mentioning the fact that someone would have had to slip past her cubicle without her noticing and that's something that never happens

"Good to see you too," he jokes throwing his pen on his desk. "What's wrong?" he crooks his head studying her for a second. She tiptoes towards his desk, her hands still in the air like she's on some top secret mission and no one can hear her walk and he bites his tongue and how ridiculously cute this actually is as he waits for her to sit down in the chair across from him.

"So.." she sighs, her hands falling on his desk, "you know I did this clearance thing right? I told you.. " and he hums, his head nodding waiting for her to continue. "And I had this old nightstand.." she leans forward, her voice lower now as she whispers, ".. And Rachel just told me she managed to sell it to someone."

He mirrors her position, his arms on his desk, his head close to hers. "What's wrong with that?" His voice low too. She looks down, swallowing not even sure she's going to say this but she already told him this much. "She sold it with all the contents still in it."

He frowns for a second, his mind going on overdrive of what could possibly be in there. "Which is?" he whispers intrigued now. "A..." She swallows, biting her lip, "a tape." His eyes pop open a bit, a smirk smile forming on his lips as his mind goes to the dirties option immediately. "A tape? What kind of tape?"

"The Baseball World Cup of 2002..." she adds in a sarcastic tone, but in some way it's the truth. It's the title she had written on it. "Baseball?" he swallows suddenly feeling kind of hot and confused, he tries to clear his thoughts. "Of course not," she cuts him off, "an you know what kind of tape."

"A.." his mouth drops, not able to pronounce his thoughts.

"Sex tape," she sighs looking down, "yes.. OMG I'm so.. I'm so dead."

He swallows, leaning back in his chair. This new piece of information about the red head he dreamt of every night being a bit too much. His fingers falling around his tie as he loosens it a bit, wondering if this baseball thing is merely a coincidence or if it was his lucky day.

"We've got to track down the buyer.." he hears her mumble "and I.. I need to buy that nightstand back.. And if they don't want what they paid for I, well you.. You need to offer more. Or .. Or I'll have to break in and steal the thing back.. Or.."

"Donna.." he mumbles, still confused but he knows what to do when her eyes meet his. He sees that desperate look on her face. "I'll do whatever it takes to help you get that thing back," he offers her smile, his hand falling on the handle of his drawer where it lingers for a few seconds, but he doesn't open it.

Not yet. He's going to use this situation for his advantage.

"Thanks," she whispers looking away as she walks back to her desk again. "Ooh and Harvey.." she pauses opening the door, "please don't-"

"I won't tell anyone," he comments, he wouldn't. Not ever. Just like he never told anyone about the other time. This was another one of the amazing secrets of Donna Paulsen she had trusted him with and he'd never do anything to harm that privilege.

.

He knows everything will be alright even though he had to see her sweat and panic when he overheard Rachel telling her the buyer didn't answer his phone all day. Or when Rachel told her she couldn't remember if it was sold with or without the contents, something he already knows the answer to.

He presses the button of the intercom while both women are still outside his office. He asks Donna to send Rachel in, asking the associate for the details of the buyer. Rachel isn't even surprised to find out Donna called in Harvey for this. She's got no clue as to why this nightstand is so important or what must be in it, but for Donna to ask Harvey for help she knows it's something big.

.

 **Later that night**

Donna pulls her legs up on the couch, a glass of wine in her hand that she downs for the third time that evening. Desperate times ask for desperate measures and losing a sex tape is definitely one of those. Especially when Rachel has just told you once more the buyer is nowhere to be found.

She hears someone knock on the door then. It isn't just once, but three times and she just knows it's him. It's Harvey. She rolls her eyes, wondering why she even told him about the tape, because she also knows he'll use that information if he needs to. Witty comment here or there.

She walks over to the door non the less, letting out a sigh before she opens it. She swallows as she sees him lean against the door frame, a smile on his face that looks exactly like the first time he showed up at her place.

"Harvey?" she whispers looking at him. "Donna," he smirks, he's making her pay and she knows it. She rolls her eyes again as he holds a box in front of her. "If there's a camera inside that box you can turn around right now," she warns him.

He lets out a laugh, but he can't say it hadn't crossed his mind. "Of course not," he reassures her, his head crooked as he pushes the box in her hands. "I've got a gift for you," he tells her instead. She tries to hide her smile, as she lets him step inside. He waits for her to tell him what to do, her signalling the couch putting them right back to that ignored moment of months ago.

"You brought me a gift?" Her voice curious and teasing. Like it's the first time he's ever bought her something, but she knows that's not true. At all. He nods, telling her to open it and she does after she sits down beside him.

Her fingers lifting the lid and unfolding the paper inside it. It's a bit messier than something store bought would have been, but that makes this so much more special. She swallows as she recognises the pattern, the small graphic lines in a soft blue tint. The cashmere soft against her finger tips.

It's the scarf she had reluctantly given to Rachel after not being able to see the surprised 'Harvey gave me that' - look once more. She doesn't know what to say, her eyes meeting his once more and he just smiles. "Thank you," she manages to pronounce at last and he nods. "Take it out.."

She does as he tells her, lifting the piece of fabric before she places it down in between them. Her hand scraping his for the slightest of seconds as her eyes are drawn to the smaller wrapped present in the box. It's exactly the size of a VHS tape. "This.. Is this?" she stutters, afraid to tear away the paper. "You..?"

He nods, "tracked down the buyer, convinced him that drawer was accidentally sold and has lots of emotional value.." he offers her a small smile, "same for the content," his smile turning into his signature smirk again.

"Stop it," she counters, stopping herself from slapping his chest, her hands removing the wrapping paper instead. The letters reading "Baseball World Cup 2002" in her hand writing appear and she lets out a sigh. "Ooh thank god."

"It's Harvey actually," he laughs as she places the tape on the coffee table, his eyes meeting hers once more. "Very funny Specter," she rolls her eyes looking away, "but thank you.. Again."

"Always," he presses his lips together, his shoulders raised. He told her once before that wouldn't let anything happen to her and he meant it. "I've got one question though," he mumbles.

"No.." she shakes her head, "nope nope nope.."

"That's not what I wanted to ask," he laughs, somehow it's always the first thing that comes to mind between them. "I don't know why okay? I just did.. Blame it on me being an actress okay," she mumbles, not even waiting for his question. Because she can't hear him say it. He lets out another laugh. "I didn't know you wanted to become that kind of actress, but once more, not what I wanted to ask."

She shakes her head, "fine.. What do you want to know?" she asks looking at him. "Why did you name "it" Baseball World Cup 2002?" he points at the tape on her table. She raises her shoulders a little, "because no one on earth would want to watch that."

"I would," he's still looking at her and he sees how she starts to panic a bit. He can almost hear the gears starting to turn in her head, probably determining the next question or accusation she's going to throw at him, but he decides to put both of them, but mostly her out of her misery.

"But I didn't." It's the truth, he never watched the tape. Not before nor after she told him what it was. "You didn't?" she replies in slight disbelief, but deep down she knows he's a gentleman and he would never do that. It's just pure luck he didn't have a tape recorder before finding out what the actual tape was about.

"No I didn't," he nods looking away as the following words slip his lips, "I prefer the real thing."

.

He never told her exactly how he got the tape and she didn't ask him why he didn't tell her when she found out a day later. How Louis had helped Rachel with the sale, but looked through the drawers first. After seeing the title of the tape he had given it to Harvey, because none of it really mattered.

It was just a tape.

And what happened between them later that night and every night after that was as he called it 'the real thing' and if there are any recordings of the "Baseball World Cup 2016" is something we will never know.

The end.


End file.
